Topic: What do players know of Ja'miil Targ

[vroomfogle]

Looking for some GM opinions for the Jaiman player guide I'm working on.


What do your players know of the forces from Ja'miil Targ?   

Do you use the term "Dragonlord" or does it remain more anonymous?

Do they know of war in that region, of the Dragonlord pushing back the Syrkakar from the Lu'nak region?

[Elrik]

Good Question.

In my games...
Several of my parties have faced the racially mixed forces. The Dragon doesn't care what his military make up is. As long as they work. Punishments are harsh. People that live in the area of course know the structure. As you move farther away the military makeup becomes just that, a distant face that they don't recognize. Eventually they become "those soldiers over there". The makeup assumed to be all human. There will always be exceptions, like merchants, rangers, raiders and the like.  They will have first hand vision of things military.

He is simply called "The Dragon", reverence is expected. Most have no clue what a Dragon Lord is. Although Dragon sightings in that area are higher then usual. There are the elite that know, The Dragon's personal servants and guards. Those that live and serve in his Keep may suspect, but fear the truth or many simply don't understand what they are looking at. I always played it that there were few that "Deserved to Know". I am a firm believer that Knowledge is Power. The Dragon does not willingly share power.

The only people that know about the battles, are those that have been there, people that talk to merchants (that have been there), or People with an interest in the area, for example: spy's, thieves, speciality groups, seers and wise women that just seem to know the most peculiar things, Royals, trusted nobles (or those with an interest in the area in question) and the occasional adventurer. In every game I run with a "Free Radical", a person that heard/experienced/saw something they shouldn't have. They tend to be my hooks to pull players in certain directions, in case my party is extra thick that day.

That is about as far as I have gone with that region.

[Walt]

Nearly nothing. Whereas "The White Mask" is ominious near and present (over the border), but a diffuse menace (knowbody knows if it?s a Lord, or an organisation, or even a tribal thing), the forces from Ja'miil Targ are much more concrete but remote - information would have to cross the Zor Wastes, Lu?nak and the Blue Forest or Wuliris, torn by war.

So of the name "Dragonlord" virtually nobody knows, only the innermost circle of power like Elric described. That their is a mayor force, the Dragon, is known in the areas nearby Ja'miil Targ. But this information travels rarely over this half circle Blue Forest, Zor Wastes, Wuliris.

[yammahoper]

I've ran extensive adventures in the area, many dealing with expansion into the Haidic Forest and the people who live there.  The Dragonlord always has new mechanitions to tear down the old power of the forest.

Everyone knows who the Dragonlord is and that he has a mighty empire in the north of Jaiman.  The learned believe he is a powerful Archmage who has undergon the Ritual of Ascension.  Since the Dragonlord has twice in major battle worked great magic and assumed dragon form, routing the enemy and saving his army, the rumors of the Dragonlord and his power are wide spread.

Ja' miil Targ is famous for producing steel weapons, and trade with the northern empire is brisk.  Mercany companies, human and lugrok, ply their trade around Jamian and Emer.  The Dragonlords navy is feared, skilled and known to engage in piracy.  Still, the extreme wealth of iron and steel is reason enough to risk life, limb and possible enslavement on a galley or warship of the Dragonlords.

[RandalThor]

I have to say (and I am sure you're not going to like it), but I think that things such as that should have listings like: common, uncommon, rare, very rare, etc...knowledges. If you want it static you can say a certain # of ranks is needed to automatically know it, or you can just make it a knowledge (appropriate, of course) skill check with the proper modifiers for the rarity of the knowledge. Of course, some things may be fully impossible for a player character to know without first-hand experience, so it could be classified as such.

I know that means more work, unless you just give a general idea of what is less-likely to be known by people from other parts of Jamain, and/or have it tagged by profession. (I.e., a sage is likely to know more detailed information than the city guard about most things not concerning city guarding and the guard's own family.)

Also, some possible wrong information would be nice - sometimes what we know isn't actually right. Very often that is the case!

[Vince]

I imagine that normal people doesn't know too much about dragonlords, only that one of them lives at northern Jaiman and maybe that he is a "Red Dragon" and exhales fire. Colors are an easy way to remember. Towns will know more and more depending how near they are from Ja'miil Targ.

Anyway there will be a lot of people more worried about general politics of his country that will know more.

So, maybe a player doesn't know anything about Shulton at first, but asking to somebody who is a little cultured person( a doctor, lawyer, engineer, priest, scholar...etc) will get info about important battles, general composition of the army and so on. Nothing specific but acurate.

All the people that serves in the Keep knows that they are serving a real Dragon, that' my opinion. I remember now, that in Shadowstone Chr. we read about Ulya eating , and it seems totally unnatural how it feels while swallowing.

It will be a very restricted information for a few selected persons things like his true name, his demonic powers of control, his lieutenants and this kind of details.

[yammahoper]

Agreed, most consider Sulthon a powerful dragon and master of magic WITH the wealth of a kingdom backing him up.  He is the undisputed master of North East Jaiman in my game, but it is not general knowledge he is a DRAGON LORD and wears a magic crown that gives him power or any of that stuff.

[vroomfogle]

Thanks for the input all, info in the guide will be quite general in nature.   I am including 'knowledge charts' that will give ideas on what players would know given level of knowledge similar to what RandalThor mentioned, but without giving out too much specific information.  The goal here is mostly to give enough cultural and regional info so that players can pick up the book and use it to pick a character, but without ruining everything.